1936-1937

Thousands of GM workers occupy plants in Flint for 44 days in a sit-down strike over wages and benefits. Workers ignore a court order to evacuate the factories, and the strike does not end until GM becomes the first car company to negotiate with the United Automobile Workers of America, a union formed in 1935. GM's capitulation marked a significant victory for the UAW and bolstered the industrial labor union movement around the country.